


The Wingman

by AsphyxiaOrange



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: AU, Double Date, F/M, Love Across The Universe: Dangan Salmon Team, kaimaki, momoharu, theme park, wingman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:54:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,149
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28515990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsphyxiaOrange/pseuds/AsphyxiaOrange
Summary: Kaito, Maki, Shuichi and Kaede all agree to meet at a theme park. Kaito and Maki are trying to set up Shuichi and Kaede, while Shuichi and Kaede are determined to set up Kaito and Maki. Neither party knows of the others' plan.This takes place in the Alternate Universe based on the Salmon Mode, so the characters behave as if they were Hopes Peak Academy students that never participated in a killing game.This will be mostly KaiMaki with some Shuichi/Kaede for flavor.
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Saihara Shuichi, Harukawa Maki/Momota Kaito
Comments: 5
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

“Okay, you got the plan memorized?”

“How could I forget? You went over it four times.”

“Just act natural!”

“You’re one to talk,”

“What? Hey, I’m one-hundred-percent natural! I’m _A natural_!”

Maki smiled a small smile. “Whatever you say.” 

“Here they come!” Kaito slammed his hands together in a thunderous clap. The clap served two purposes: blatant spurring hype, and to alert his friends that _he had spotted them_ from inside the crowds.

Shuichi offered a small wave when he noticed him. Behind him, Kaede trailed along as inconspicously as she could. She had her own plan up her sleeve and she was determined not to fail. She just had to think of the right word in the right place, and her own plan would set into motion.

“Hey there,” Shuichi said after he closed the distance between himself and Kaito. “I hope you two weren’t waiting long,” he smiled. Kaede copied his smile with a toothy grin.

“Nah, it wasn’t long at all! We got here a little late!” Kaito said triumphantly. He himself hoped that Shuichi and Kaede would have been there early, and that he and Maki delaying arrival would give Shuichi a bit of a push- the feeling that _maybe_ he was on a _date_ with Kaede. 

Unfortunately, they were _all_ late- for some reason. Kaito didn’t think much of it. He’s done the math, but he figured that luck couldn’t be helped. Shuichi and Kaede exchanged glances- this was going to be harder than Kaede thought.

“Oh, I’m _starving_ , why don’t we grab some food first!” Kaede said excitedly.

“Before roller coasters?” Shuichi gave her an odd look.

“I didn’t want to ride the big one anyway, we’ll have plenty of time for food to settle waiting in line…” Kaede fidgeted with a strand of her hair.

Maki stared at Kaede. She could _see_ the increased heart rate, the sweat bead forming on her brow, and her rosy cheeks. She squinted. 

Kaede was desperately trying to hold it together. She laughed a little when there wasn’t an immediate response.

“Food sounds great!” Kaito spoke, much louder than necessary. They could have roasted marshmallows on the fire bursting from his energy. His fists were clenched, his spirit ablaze, and-

“That little burger stand by the haunted house is good,” Shuichi said, as if he didn’t know about Kaito’s fear of ghosts.

Kaito fizzled. His shoulders sunk. He gave Shuichi a pathetic look. All of his residual energy was transferred in space to Kaede, who was now excited by the prospect of Kaito getting scared in the burger line. If she placed herself strategically, Kaito would only be able to rely on one person: _Maki_.

Maki was becoming even more suspicious. Shuichi knew it was only a matter of time before she figured things out if they spoke about it for too long.

Maki let out a thoughtful “hmm,” about it. If Kaito freaked out, that would be too much of a distraction- it would completely ruin the mood they were trying to set. She looked to her companion and sighed.

“You know, I’m not really feeling burgers at the moment…” she said wistfully. She was still looking at Kaito, but he was somewhere else far-off mentally: still thinking about the haunted house. He looked pathetic. 

“You’re not..?” Shuichi seemed a little disappointed. “Kaede was really wanting that burger…” he looked to Kaede, who in turn started to look as pleading as possible. She clasped her hands together and stared with big eyes.

Maki smiled. This was perfect. “How about we grab something else and meet you guys at a table?” She asked.

The opposing team’s faces lit up. It wasn't what they had planned, but it seemed like a good compromise. “Good idea!” Shuichi nodded.

“Come on, Come on,” Maki pushed Kaito since his legs wouldn’t move on their own. Towards the tables that were set up for food, there were two small food stands to choose from. She waved politely at her friends as they walked towards the burger stand- it was about a block away, so the haunted house was well out of sight.

Maki looked at the two food stalls and considered the plan again as Kaito recovered. She stood close in case he still felt faint. She would not let him fall.

“Hungry?” She asked plainly.

“Eh, I can always eat,” he said. He shook one of his hands midair. 

“French fries?” She asked, quietly, almost as if she didn’t want to admit that she wanted to eat them. 

“Just get something for you, I’ll scrounge- I’m too focused on the mission to think of anything else!”

“Right, the mission…” she placed her chin in her hands as she stepped in line for one of the eateries “It's good that Shuichi is considering her feelings, even above ours- that means something…”

“Yeah! This operation will be a piece of cake!”

“There’s just… Kaede seemed… off, she might be worried about something…” Maki bit the end of her thumb. It was a bad habit and she’d yet to break it.

“Maybe she’s just feeling the mood or something.”

“You’re right, she could be nervous… but even _we_ can tell they’re into each other, it’s not like she should be afraid of… you know,” Maki lightly shrugged her shoulders.

“What do I know?” Kaito leaned in. He assumed there was some sort of secret here, but he wasn’t sure what it could be: nobody kept secrets from him, but he admittedly didn’t know Kaede as well as his sidekick. Maybe it was a Kaede thing.

Maki hesitated. A heartstring or two tugged in the wrong direction. She was already regretting bringing it up, but she had taken too many steps to not just speak it. “...Unrequited Love,” she said quietly, disappointingly. She said it as if it was a curse- a great burden- and it was. 

It was _her_ burden.

But he wouldn’t know that.

He thought about it for a second. Why _wouldn’t_ he know anything about that? He gave her a cockeyed look for only a moment before he brushed it away and instead jumped to the positives that he was ready to dish out: “They might just need more alone time for her to work up the courage! Let her lead him a bit and then **wham** !” He slammed his fists together, making a passerby flinch. “He makes a _move_ ,” he added, in as smooth of a voice as he could muster. 

A block away at the burger stand Kaede and Shuichi were trying to also crack some sort of game plan together.

Kaede ran her hands up and down her arms, “Well, I suppose this works,” she said, cheerfully, but it still managed to fall flat. “Did Maki seem mad to you?” she asked, worried.

“I think she’s onto us,” Shuichi stared at the menu. “Not mad,” he added, just to make sure it was clear. 

“We need to do something to get the spark going…” Kaede bounced a little in place. 

“Oh, Do you think we could trick them into going on to a couples ride?” he asked.

“ _We_ might have to ride one for that to happen…” she said slyly. She rubbed her heel in the dirt.

As soon as she pointed that out, he could feel the pinpricks of goosebumps running up the back of his neck. He didn’t think about it like that at first, and he was afraid she would feel it was forced. “That might not be necessary!” he yipped, a little bit highly, and a bit too flustered.

Kaede would not notice that part, only the part where he seemed to not want to ride one with her. She rubbed her heel in the dirt a little harder. Shuichi hid his face by looking away and trying to act casual about it.

“Well I’d be _willing_ ,” she mumbled grumpily.

Shuichi crossed his arms. Why was she so upset about it? _She must really not want to_. He was a little downput by it, but maybe she’d go with him if he made a more convincing argument.

Kaede took a step forward and ordered food for both of them. He took a step to the side and leaned against the side of the haunted house. He watched Kaede carefully. 

He liked her.

_A lot._

Maybe there was a chance that whatever went down that day would also allow the opportunity… _no_ , he shook his head. He had something to focus on, he couldn't let his own feelings make him waver. Shuichi’s arms uncrossed. He tapped the side of the haunted house rhythmically. He thought about Clair De Lune. A tune like that was something that often reminded him of her, and the feeling of that melody always tugged him- each and every part of it was another feeling- another piece. Every time he heard it he thought of all the time they had together- but he also felt the yearning for more.

He shook his head again. He needed to focus! He needed to focus! He took a deep breath. Pieces- parts of a whole- he needed the perfect melody to push his two best friends together. The perfect combination of pulling and pushing… he turned and looked at the haunted house behind him. The ugly images of poorly drawn ghosts made their way up the side like a funeral procession for bad graphic design.

He smiled. “I have an idea!” he exclaimed.

The two teams soon met up with each other again, all in good spirits with unhealthy park-food in their hands, waiting to raid them with grease and calories. 

They basked in the shade of the noon. Maki looked up to the sky for a moment and then tilted her head back down. The other two had brought a meal of champions, at least in portion sizes, and she only had a measly fry-basket that was going to likely be half-eaten. 

Polite conversation tried to advance, but it was a bit awkward and smalltalk-like. They were all very focused on their mission at this point- oblivious to the other team’s intent.

Kaito pilfered a few fries from Maki’s basket, and Kaede wanted to scream. They were sharing _food_. She was excited to see them like that.

Kaito caught Kaede’s weird look. He figured Shuichi did her a good one- that burger really did seem to be her thing. 

Convenient for the opposing teams, they felt that the game was already set in their favor.

Shuichi was already done with his food and wiping his hands off on his shorts. Kaito and Maki were nearly to the end of their fry basket. And Kaede was lagging behind with a bit more food. She felt like she was forcing it down too much, but she couldn’t go against her lie- she had to _appear_ hungry!

Kaede took a fast bite- too fast- faster than the rest of her could keep up. And then it happened: hiccups.

Shuichi paused when he heard the first _hic_ . A devious smile started to curl onto his face. Kaede covered her mouth, but all eyes were already on her. She gulped and then another hiccup escaped her. _What did this mean? Was she being too much of a distraction?_

Kaito noticed Shuichi’s devious look. The time to make a move had to be soon- his sidekick should know to ride the wave. If Kaede was happy with her burger- despite the hiccups- then it was a good time for good feelings to flow. “You guys sure do know how to put it away!” he said.

Maki gave him a weak look. _Was that supposed to be a compliment?_ She took a sip of her water and stared out and away to avoid saying anything too mean. “They did say they were hungry,” she added.

Kaede hiccupped again. Shuichi put a hand on her back. “Oh no, hiccups are the worst,” he said softly. Shuichi shook his head and then looked at Kaito, who he knew would be the quickest to buy a lie.

Kaede’s face turned dark- furiously dark. “I need to be rid of these,” she said in a low voice before another light and girly hiccup made her jump in her seat and squeak.

Shuichi very much acted like he was very obviously thinking, just to hammer it home that he was pretending to come up with an idea. “Hmmm,” he patted Kaede twice on the back. “How could we get rid of these?” he pretended to wonder aloud.

Maki squinted.

“Oh, how about we scare them out of you!” Shuichi said in a high voice. He almost choked on the last word. His lying was starting to sound like Kokichi’s. He cleared his throat.

Kaito’s face started to dim- he knew where this was going.

“How about you guys go on a ride together while I take Kaede back to the haunted house?” Shuichi smiled. _Since when had he gotten so terrible at lying?_ He gulped.

Kaito was too leery of the haunted house to say anything about that. He nodded. “That’s fine!” he said, a few octaves higher than his voice should have been. He turned his attention to his unfinished drink and took a long sip to avoid talking any further.

Maki nodded as well. “Sounds good,” she agreed.

Shuichi grabbed Kaede by the hand and yanked her away from the table like a ragdoll. They sped off towards the haunted house without even looking back to wave.

Maki and Kaito exchanged another glance. 

“They’re even holding hands, could this get any easier?”

“It could.”

“They’re just doing our work for us! This is almost disgraceful!”

“Something’s up, but I can’t figure out what…”

“Well what are we gonna do, follow them?”

Maki looked upwards once more to one of the taller attractions. “We gain a vantage point and resume our planning from there,” She pointed to the top of a ferris wheel. It was the tallest structure for miles, and she would be able to pick them out of a crowd the moment they were done in the haunted house- given, if it took them _five to fifteen minutes_ to complete it.

“Great idea Harumaki,” he exclaimed cheerily. He shook the cup that was still in his hand to shuffle the ice around. With his other hand, he placed it on her head and gave her a little tussle.

Maki smacked his hand away and patted her hair back into place. She pretended she was insulted and annoyed, but she was happy. That was the first time he’d called her that all day. She fidgeted with her hair while he cleaned up the table.


	2. Haunted House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi and Kaede steal a ghost from the haunted house, while Kaito and Maki look for a good vantage point.

Kaede and Shuichi rushed into the haunted house past the person reading wristbands. Shuichi stopped, unearthed a flashlight that he’d brought with him, and shuffled to the side. The little screaming robots were boring enough, but he knew it’d be enough to mess with Kaito. Little swinging ghosts that made noise swung in the ceiling of the first room- cheap halloween decorations that were easy to set up.

Kaede followed him cautiously, careful to make sure that no one saw them going off the little pathway that they were supposed to follow. They squeezed into a dark corner of the room- there wasn’t much room to hide behind there. Shuichi crouched down, and she stuck as close next to him as she could- pressed to his back. Shuichi tensed up a little. Kaede hadn’t really been that close before- and now she was practically on top of him. Her arms, finger to elbow, pressed against him. 

He raised his shoulders and tried to ignore it, and let the flashlight trail up the wall. There were quite a few cables spliced here, but they only needed one. He shined the light at the ghosts- each one had a thin cord, thin enough to be distinguished from the rest of the heavier electronic decorations. Kaede pointed to the strand and traced it down the wall with one eye closed.

“There!” She whispered just behind his ear. 

Goosebumps ran up and down his neck again. He was thankful for the surrounding darkness. He nodded, but he realized that she wouldn’t be able to see that well. He crawled forward and found the cord and tugged it. The power supply was easy to disconnect one ghost- the real problem was getting it away from the wall. A very organized decorator connected all of the cords with cable ties about seven feet in the air- high enough that no one would be likely to mess with it.

Shuichi glanced back to the empty haunted house pathway. No one was going to notice them in the corner, would they? There wasn’t a ton of foot traffic. Shuichi scooted his back against Kaede again so that she could climb onto his shoulders.. “Hop on,” he whispered.

Kaede gripped his shoulders, and then gently placed her hands on the sides of his head and swung her legs over his shoulders. He held her thighs close to his ears and tried to stand up one knee at a time.

He wobbled on the way there. Her hand grabbed the wall to steady them both. He shined the flashlight on the cable tie while still holding her thighs as tightly as he could.

Kaede glanced back towards the path again. A small group had just entered from the front door. They were far enough in the dark, but if someone focused on them they’d be found quickly. She grabbed one of the thin ghost cords and held it aside as she undid and re-did the cable ties.

She offered the ghost more slack than it had before and the ghost swooped down onto the party. The party screamed and ran quickly into the next room. “Got it,” she said without bothering to whisper. She released the cord and watched the ghost swoop back down towards the walk way.

Shuichi crouched back down to his knees. Kaede almost fell backwards off of him and she grabbed his shoulders again with a closed-mouth shriek. Her legs tightened up into what could have easily turned into a chokehold. To think he would go out like this: choked by Kaede’s thighs. Shuichi took a deep breath and leaned backwards until she could gently climb off his crouched form without falling. She took a deep breath and untangled her legs off of his neck.

He sighed a sigh of relief, having nearly avoided death. “I think I’ve had a dream like that one time,” he joked, rubbing his neck. 

“Like…  _ that _ ?” She asked, hesitantly. A dream of them reaching a cable tie? Or a dream of her thighs around his face? Her hand flew over her mouth. Surely he couldn’t be serious-

“A nightmare of being choked to death?” he clarified, innocently, without any thought to what else he could have meant by that. 

He unplugged the ghost decoration and then continued to the center of the path to pull it down. It was still looped through the ceiling, but it was easy to pull off without having to deal with another cable tie. The ghost they needed was now laying on the floor now that it wasn’t plugged in or held to the wall. Shuichi gleamed it, folded it up. Kaede turned around on cue so that he could tuck it into her backpack. 

He patted the backpack and offered her a friendly wink. They were now partners in crime. Literal crime. They stole a cheap  _ Halloween decoration _ from an amusement park. She couldn’t help the bubbles that tingled their way up her stomach when he did that, as she couldn’t help any of the feelings she had for him. She smiled, deviously, happy to be working on this plan with him.

He grabbed her hand again and led her back out through the front of the haunted house and past the worker again. The worker reached out to grab them again, but once again missed.

By the time they left the haunted house, Kaito and Maki had just gotten to the front of the ferris wheel line. Maki checked her watch, by her calculations they had another five minutes until they would potentially miss their friends running by. Maki smiled sweetly at the worker who loaded them into the cart and then she sat there awkwardly across from Kaito. She hadn’t considered anything other than the fact of the vantage point- and now she was here.

Maki could write it off as a slick move, or as some sort of stupid move. She wasn’t sure. She looked at him, but he was already staring off through the window. Was he thinking of other things?

He wasn’t.

He thought about stealing a glance back at her, but something told him that she would be staring forward like some automaton until she would mechanically turn and look for Shuichi and Kaede. That was what the day was about, anyways, so it wasn’t like she would put her focus anywhere else, was it?

He finally convinced himself to look at her as the little bucket-like cabin began to rise. 

She was looking at the floor.

He cleared his throat, causing her to perk back up into her automaton mode.

He looked away again, out the window, as if that were really his goal as well. “Do you think we’d have a better vantage point from the same side or opposite sides?”

She looked at him curiously for a moment, and then looked outside of the cabin. They were halfway to the top of the wheel. “Well, I suppose we only need to see the front of the haunted house so…” she mused. “So we only really need to sit on one side…” she fidgeted with her hair.

“So why are you all the way over there?” he asked.

She held tightly onto her ponytail. She was opposite him because she wasn’t thinking about her vantage point when they were loaded onto the ride, but she wasn’t about to explain that whole mess to him.

“Are you... mad at me?” he asked. He leaned forward onto his elbows.

At first, Maki was shocked- she didn’t think he would notice the difference. Usually he seemed like he was quick to brush it off when she got miffed- did she really seem that different now? 

Maki leaned away and then swung forward onto her feet and stepped quietly to his side of the cabin. She stood in front of him, her figure blocking the dinky little cabin light that was in the top centermost of the bucket. Shadows fell across her face, but behind her was a halo of light. He took a deep breath.

She was not sure how close she was supposed to be sitting. There wasn’t much room to begin with, but sitting right up against him seemed like an even worse idea. She opted to sit as far away as she possibly could. She leaned forward to look around him and out of the glass.

“Can you see from there?” he asked.

She scooted closer. She justified it by saying that it was so that she could get a better viewpoint of the haunted house. She started biting at her thumb and leaned across him to see without having to stand up again. 

He took a deep breath. She was closer than she usually opted to be- and that made things feel different. He didn’t think it was a bad difference, but given the circumstances it obviously wasn’t the scenario that either of them had been planning for. 

The cabin momentarily shuddered as they reached the top of the ride. Maki’s reflexes caused her to plant a death-grip on Kaitos shoulder to avoid falling all over him. He made an uncomfortable “urk” sort of noise as her fingers dug into his shoulder to steady herself. 

Maki took a deep breath. Her eyes were wide.  _ That was close _ , she thought. She cleared her throat and let go of his shoulder. She was almost tempted to apologize, but she feared he may actually detect her change in character this time. She gently patted the part of his shoulder that she just abused, in hopes that that would stand as a wordless apology.

“You know, we can switch seats,” He said, grumbling.

She was surprised that he had such a good idea, and that she hadn't thought of it herself. The whole awkward situation could’ve been avoided if she pulled her head out of her feelings. “...Right.” She nodded.

Once reshuffled, they still had the same deck to deal with. They couldn’t spot their friends at the top or sides of the ferris wheel, so the consensus was that they somehow either missed them, or that the other team had spent much more time in the haunted house than they had originally planned.

“I’m still wondering, y’know? Are-” he asked, but she was already sure what he was going to say. She still hadn’t answered his questions from earlier.

“I’m not  _ mad _ at you,” she said softly. She looked out still, with her hands on the glass, but she could see his reflection staring from behind her. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to tell him exactly. Now was not the time for a feelings jam, especially when they still had things to focus on. “Let's focus on our mission for now, we can talk aft-“

“That’s not gonna do it, Maki! You’re my sidekick. I told you that I’d be there if you needed me and I meant it! Now spit it out already!” He slammed his open hand down on the seat between them. 

Maki squeezed her hand shut. She could see that this was a frustrating situation- and she agreed, but it seemed like they had different reasons. She hadn’t meant to be thinking about stuff like this- like this up here- at the vantage point. 

“I still need to figure out how to say it,” she looked down upon the crowds. “But I… I  _ promise _ , when I do figure it out, I’ll tell you,” she kept her hands on the glass, but her eyes were on him. She turned around to look him in the eye- to make sure he knew that she wasn’t lying. 

And she wasn’t. She had always wanted to tell him. The real problem was, she didn’t know if she would  _ ever _ figure it out. 

Kaito nodded. That was a good enough answer as he needed. After all, he trusted her. Lies were one thing, and he understood that sometimes the Sidekicks lied for each other, but… not  _ to each other. _ See, the only reason one of them would try to lie like that would be something serious- a lie that would hurt someone

A lie that could hurt him, maybe. Well, as if anything could hurt the “”luminary of the stars””, but it sure as hell didn’t stop him from wondering about it. He shoved his would-be fear far down and cleared his throat in the process. He would save negative emotions like that for later- losing his cool in front of his friends wasn’t something he ever wanted to deal with.

So he would wait for her answer.

Whether he liked it or not.

When she turned around again, he let his smile fall and hoped she wouldn’t notice.

“That’s it!” She spoke quickly, emotionless.

“What’sit?” He leaned away from the chair. 

As they were approaching the bottom of the ride, Maki spotted their friends halfway across the park. She tapped on the glass with one finger. “Our target,” she said. Maki positioned herself in front of the doors and waited silently for the ride to end.

Kaito leaned back against the seat- their original plan looked like it was going to be easy, but this? Trying to crack Maki open all over again? This was going to be harder than he thought.


	3. Sinking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Squad get in line for the Tunnel of Love

At the bottom of the ride, and as soon as the doors opened, Maki pushed past most of the crowd and far from Kaito. He yelled out for her, but he shrugged when she didn’t respond. He tried to not take it personally, but after their vague conversation he couldn’t help but worry a little about it. Even if she was just going into assassin mode, it seemed like it was at least partially, even if just a teeny tiny bit- her closing herself off.

He scratched the back of his head. Was this distance going to be permanent? He’d always hoped to close the gap, but the spaces kept widening and widening. Pairing off Shuichi was only half of the plan, even a fool like him knew it would change something between him and Maki, but he couldn’t help but fear that it was going to be for the worse. After all, what would she even see in a guy like him? She was a trained assassin and all he was ever good for was going to space- which was only the first of his issues.

He pushed through the crowd of people, but it only seemed to become more and more dense. Where was she? He craned his head above some of the passersby. She was often too agile, too fast to be caught in the waves of the crowd, but he was swept up in it- pushed around by it.

He made out the edge of her hair flickering between people as they exited the congregation. That was all he needed to be able to follow. He pushed past the stalling bodies in order to reach her, but she was too fast. “Maki!” he called again, a little louder.

She turned for only a moment and their eyes met again through the busy crowd. She looked determined, but she stopped. He finally caught up to her.

“I’m the hero! I’m supposed to lead!” He huffed and gruffed.

She took a moment to consider this. They were still on this  _ sidekick _ business. She would never be free from that, would she? Her eyes lowered. 

“Did you see where they went?” she asked. She cocked her head to the side.

“Well, no…” He put his hand on his neck. The crowds threatened to sweep him away again. Another stranger ran halfway into his shoulder and he brushed them off.

“Then... I’m the hero today.”

“Wh...what?”

“I’m the hero, follow me.” She turned around, but swung her hand back a ways with curled fingers. 

Was he supposed to take it? She was better at this crowd maneuvering business it seemed, so it would make some sense to, but why? He hesitated. It felt like some sort of trick of the mind. She stood strong but there was a hint of some odd vulnerability- similar to one of the odd feelings he had while on the ferris wheel.

Was this real?

He took it.

They glided through the crowd. Even he had no trouble being an imposing brick wall when she was leading- she saw gaps that he couldn’t- routes that he would not have considered. He wondered,  _ huh _ , as she led him, _ this isn’t so bad, either _ .  _ Maybe she could be a hero, too _ .

Maki tried desperately not to think about the hand-holding thing. She was very surprised that he took it, and was thankful that she was the one ahead. She didn’t want to look back, lest he see the look on her face. She couldn’t help but smile a bit.

She looked up, all of her tailing and clues led her here:  _ The Tunnel of Love _ . She stopped and looked around, still holding onto his hand. A few more people pushed past them- it was now the busiest time of day for the theme park. 

She peered past the crowds and spotted Shuichi and Kaede off to the side of the tunnel- talking sporadically with their hands. She craned her neck out a bit and was immediately noticed by Shuichi. With a fleeting glance back to Kaito, she pulled him along past the next rough patch of the crowd and towards their friends.

“There you are,” Maki said calmly on approach.

“Oh, yes, there we are!” Kaede said awkwardly, as if that were a comprehensive sentence to begin with. The incomprehensibly awkward was ignored by the majority, as they were also frantic and searching for words that were in the least bit suspect.

Shuichi glanced down. He was almost as eagle-eyed as Maki, and immediately caught that Maki was still holding on to Kaito for dear life. He elbowed Kaede in the side gently, but Kaede was still too busy fumbling over her words to notice it.

“Did you have fun on uh… wherever you went?” Shuichi asked.

Maki tilted her head from side to side, as to not give a real answer, but to imply a fifty-fifty. Kaito was about to slam his fists together and tell an obvious fib, but Maki still had a grip on his hand.  _ Oh well _ ! He swung both of his hands up, Maki’s included- and that was when it hit Maki. She snatched her hand away quickly.

“Ferris wheel was great!” He said. When he lost Maki’s hand he resumed his previous plan of slamming his hands together in a thunderclap.

Maki flinched. She was very obviously annoyed now.

“Hey, uh, would you guys wanna all go on a ride together?” Kaede asked sweetly. The extra sugar in her voice was an omen of things to come, but none would see until it was too late.

“Sure, which one?” Kaito asked casually.

Silence. Maki gulped. She hoped that this wasn’t going where she thought it was going.  _ Maybe Kaede and Shuichi already  _ rode _ the Tunnel of Love and they’re about to ask for a rollercoaster _ , she told herself- she  _ hoped _ . The hesitation was no comfort.

“Well, I’ve always wondered why the Tunnel of Love looks like such a… a boring ride, but people ride it anyways,” Shuichi held his hand to his chin. It was a habit he’d developed. He looked like he was really considering this as some sort of investigation.

Kaede watched the other two carefully as Shuichi explained to find any particular reactions. It was a mixed bag- Kaito looked like a confused animal and Maki looked like she was about to kill everyone in the room and then herself.

“I figured there was some appeal I was missing and if we rode it all as friends, it wouldn’t seem so awkward,” he nodded. He started pacing as if this were some prime thesis that he was establishing, and only stopped when he uttered the last word. Everyone’s eyes followed him.

“And I could investigate,” he added very quickly. Just in case it wasn’t already super duper obvious.

“Wow! Sure!” Kaito was quick to respond.

Maki shot him a baffled look. What on earth was going on here? There were only two seats per kart- surely he knew where this was  _ going _ . Did he want to ride with her anyways? Or did he assume he’d be riding with Shuichi. She took a deep breath.

“Awesome, I-” Kaede went to express her gratitude, but was cut off.

“Time out.” Maki said. She was avoiding looking at anyone in particular.

“What?” Kaito looked at her, confused. 

Shuichi and Kaede were visibly disenhartened.

“Side-bar,” Maki clarified. 

She grabbed Kaito by the wrist, specific to not grab him by the hand, and led him barely a few feet away in order to discuss it. She gave a quick glance back at her friends to make sure they were in another discussion entirely before whispering loudly at Kaito.

“What is this?” She growled at him.

“What do you mean?” he asked, confused. 

“Why did you agree automatically!” She whispered a little louder. She stood straight and as intimidating as she could. She even stood on her tippy toes.

“Isn’t it like, y’know, another vantage point?” He asked. He leaned back a little, even though her aggression was no threat to him.

Maki shrunk down. “Oh, I suppose it is…” she looked away and tried to hide the fact that she was slowly turning another shade. She was getting all bent out of shape- and for what? He was right again. Two in a row was a miracle.

“Well how were you thinking about it?” He asked. She obviously wasn’t thinking about the vantage point, so what did she think? He needed an answer, but he wasn’t expecting much. He could feel his heart threatening to sink a little if she didn’t respond.

Maki’s cheeks puffed up. She didn’t want to talk about it anymore. She would rather get it over with than think about it any longer. Agreeing to the ride would be easier than explaining anything to him- it would all go over his head unless she were as blunt as humanly possible.

“Does this have to do with… earlier?” He asked, and sinking his heart did. He knew something was wrong, but he didn’t understand why they couldn’t just iron it out.

Maki’s shoulders hiked up. Her arms crossed over her chest. She definitely wanted to stop talking about it now. She mumbled something, but he couldn’t hear what she was saying. 

He took a deep breath. He held his hand out palm-up. He wondered if she would take it. She kept her arms crossed and turned on her heel. Her ponytails whipped at his face and made him flinch and she walked back to Kaede and Shuichi without another word.

_ Okay, _ he nodded slowly,  _ this is getting more difficult by the minute _ .

He rejoined the others and stood in line. Maki was completely silent.

Kaede pulled out her phone.

**Today** 1:36 PM

__________________

Maki seems mad!!! |

<__________________

__________________________________

| I dont know whats going on ๑•́ㅿ•̀๑) ᔆᵒʳʳᵞ

_________________________________>

______________________________

(・・。)ゞ Doesn’t she like Kaito?? |

<_____________________________

________

| ...yes…

_______>

_______________________

...U dont sound very sure |

<______________________

____________________________________________

| I am sure! They jus need a push, lik e u said

___________________________________________>

___________

(。ヘ°) |

<___________

___________________________

| Maki also might… be in denial?

__________________________>

____________________________

How could she be in denial!?!? |

<___________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

| Sometimes it’s hard to say when you like someone! 

______________________________________________________________________>

___________

yeah... |

<__________

_____________________________________

Maybe we should’ve been more considerate |

<____________________________________

_____________________

| more considerate? 

____________________>

____________________________________________

Even if they were MADE for each other or sm |

<___________________________________________

________________________________

We cant just force it to happen... |

<_______________________________

______________________________________________

| We’re not forcing anything 

_____________________________________________>

___________

... |

<__________

Kaede put her phone away and gave Shuichi a look. Sure, the _ alone time  _ wasn’t forcing it, but the other part might be a bit much. With Maki as annoyed as she was, there were a number of ways the plan could go wrong. She could tell that Shuichi seemed nervous, and of course it made sense for him to be- she was also wondering if the plan would fail or not, but now she was also doubting the sincerity of it. Was it really okay to be playing with their friends like that? Was this not, in some branch, a watered down brand of manipulation?

Shuichi held his hands together and looked at the ground. He hadn’t even noticed how close to the front of the line they were. 

______________________

| Maybe it was a bit much

_____________________>

______________________________________________________

| But we can’t exactly turn back now 

_____________________________________________________>

Shuichi wasn’t exactly telling the truth- they could easily forfeit the plan, but he knew that even with her doubts that Kaede would prefer to press forward. Shuichi nearly bumped into the ticket counter and jumped a little. His face was practically buried in his phone. He put it away.

It was time.


	4. Tunnel of Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shuichi and Kaede convinced Kaito and Maki to ride the tunnel of love, but things might not go according to their full plan.

Shuichi took a step onto the platform. It was like he was preparing to enter another reality- one where all the lights were pink and eerily heart-shaped. The music reverberating from the tunnel was a distant, haunting sound. His heart beat faster here than it ever did in the haunted house. 

Shuichi felt like he couldn’t move. He had laid out the whole plan with Kaede and now he was unable to properly operate it. Kaede walked up behind him and led him into the ride. With a push, he could get there, but that didn’t make him any more calm.

The little kart was bright pink. It would almost be cushy and comfortable if it wasn’t for the constant wear from patrons riding it. There were a few rips that revealed the cheap foam underneath the fabric. Shuichi leaned against it and Kaede climbed in beside him,

He hadn’t realized how small the seats were until she was there too. After all, it was a couples ride- one meant for people who would usually- or intended- to sit close to one another. The extra space was just to compensate for different body sizes. 

Kaede pulled down the bar and brushed her shoulder against his. He gulped. From his pocket, he retrieved the little reciever that they needed.

“Should I hold this, or should you?” He waved it a litte, but was careful not to raise it above the back of the seat so that no one would see it.

“I’ll hold it,” she said with a smile. She took it from his hands and then peeked back towards their friends. They were in for a world of… something.

Shuichi looked with her. His eyes peered just above the back of the seat.

Maki and Kaito had no problem loading into the ride, but as soon as they did Maki was quick to cross her arms and look away. Kaito waved at Shuichi and Kaede enthusiastically. Shuichi sunk back into the chair and Kaede followed. This was a bad idea- he  _ knew _ this was a terrible idea.

Kaito brought down the cross bar. “Watch your hands!” He said, but Maki was ignoring him.

She didn’t want to get flustered here- she was already digging herself into a hole. If she had to look at his face while in the tunnel she swore she was going to lose her mind and maybe say something stupid and gushy in the moment.

He tilted his head at her. “Sorry you have to... be on a ride like this with a guy like me,” he said, quietly. This was the conclusion he came to. He didn’t have much to work with, to be fair. Her attitude was radiating with ‘leave me alone forever’ energy. Her attitude was sometimes like this, and he wasn’t sure what he thought he could expect when Shuichi was taken out of the equation. 

Maki’s shoulder tensed up. This confession is not what she was expecting to hear right before the gaudy and irritating music started blasting louder than she thought was legal.

Kaito faced forward, he didn’t realize how loud the music was going to be, and that they wouldn’t have much more of a chance to talk before the ride nudged forward and slowly started moving along the track.

It wasn’t even a very good vantage point- he could barely see the top of Shuichi’s ahoge above the seat. With nothing else to focus on, and the difficulty to hear or speak, he was now stuck on this ride with  _ that _ being the last thing he said to her.

The ride moved forward. Shuichi watched the lights above. They were set in rhythmic and repeating patterns. It seemed like the music was so that others couldn’t overhear you in the other cars. He figured out that if he scooted closer to Kaede, she should be able to hear him.

“Do you think they’ll be okay?” he asked. 

“Of course,” She smiled.

Shuichi couldn’t help himself and peeked over the seat again. Kaito and Maki both looked horrified and they were staring so despairingly forward that neither of them even noticed him.

Kaede’s shoulders dropped. He needed to stop trying to peek on them! He was going to make things worse! “I just said they’ll be okay!” She leaned in, possibly a little too close for comfort, but he wouldn’t hear her otherwise.

He sunk back into the seat again.

Maki couldn’t look at Kaito- she wouldn’t. If she did, she knew she would have to say something. She wasn’t exactly sure what to say. She already had some things she wanted to get off her chest, but now she was just… confused.  _ What did he mean like that? Because she kept treating him like he was annoying?  _

She gripped the bar and her glare tried to burn a whole into the back of Shuichi’s seat. Maybe she should redirect her annoyance- it was Shuichi and Kaede who trapped her here in the tunnel. Though, she was the one sitting still. If she really wanted to, she could easily wiggle her way out and just make a break for it.

Kaede turned back to get the receiver, but it had somehow slipped from her hand. She leaned up straight, and then sat up as straight as possible when she accidentally hit the button- she was sitting on it.

Ahead in the tunnel there was a distance, cheap “ _ Whooo _ ” from the ghost decoration followed by a young girl’s scream. Kaede pressed her lips together and then dug the receiver out from under herself.  _ That was close _ , she thought,  _ I could’ve dropped the receiver. _

Kaito and Maki were both alerted by the sound. Kaito was white-knuckle gripping the bar now, set off by the distant eerie noises. Kaito’s left hand jumped towards Maki’s end of the ride, but it was taking a lot of energy to freeze instead of flight. 

Maki’s first instinct was usually to get angry, but she could tell that Kaito was doing everything in his power to stay still and not freak out. She looked at him with pity- was he getting better about that maybe? She rubbed her eyes and then placed her hand on his hand. He likely wasn’t going to think anything of it, as he never seemed to, but the longer the time passed from that odd sound, the more he calmed down.

He was bearable when all he did was freeze up, maybe if he was more like that… then she’d get annoyed less. It made no difference how much she loved-

She took her hand away and started fiddling with her hair. 

They were nearing the middle of the ride already, and Shuichi was getting even more nervous about their plan. If things didn’t go as planned, maybe he was meddling too much. What if he messed up their friendships?  _ Yikes _ . He crossed his arms over his chest and looked to Kaede, who was mentally timing the music and waiting to set the trap.

Kaede pressed the receiver, quicker than he was prepared for her to. He wouldn’t have been prepared any time she would’ve set it off, to be honest. 

The cheap halloween ghost swooped down- perfectly timed to cross right in front of Kaito and Maki and make its little noises at them. It made a very pathetic ‘ _ woooo _ ’ noise, but that was all that was necessary.

Kaito  _ screamed _ . He could not hold back anymore- he needed to hide and he needed to hide fast. There was nowhere to go in the little ride, and, as his friends had predicted, he latched tightly onto Maki.

Maki didn’t have enough room to wind back her arms and hit him- he and the ride combined were a powerful constriction that would be too difficult to get out of and leave him alive. She wiggled one arm out and placed it over his mouth “Quiet,” she said firmly.

He looked so pathetic to her. He shut his eyes hard and tried to not be as loud by request, but he couldn’t stop shaking or the tears forming in his eyes. He was too close. He was already partially buried into her shoulder. She inhaled sharply and grabbed the collar of his jacket and hiked it up around his face and then drew her arms around him.

If he couldn’t see her, then he wouldn’t have to see her blushing. He buried himself further into her neck and stayed there shivering. She took a slow, slow breath this time and thought that maybe, for once, she could be selfish- and let him be selfish.

She leaned her head on his lightly.

Shuichi tried to peek above the seats, but Kaede grabbed him and pulled him back onto the seat with both hands. The slippery little receiver dropped again.

“Stop looking!” She whispered loudly and grabbed his face, “They’re  _ okay _ !”

Shuichi just stared at her. He didn’t have anything to say, and he wasn’t even bothering to think about that. He was now distracted by Kaede- who was even closer than she was in the haunted house- holding his face gently between both hands.

It was like the world had slowed down for a moment- neither of them were breathing. It was like one of those scenes in a movie- everything was so quiet and yet so loud- and here they were, the only people in the world.

And then, there was a loud  **KERCHUNK** , and the ride abruptly stopped. 

Kaede very shyly withdrew her hands from Shuichi’s face, leaned back, and crossed her arms over her chest. She felt like an idiot- she felt like that was the dumbest way to get his attention- in any sense of the phrase.  His wide eyes looked at the seat next to him and then back to Kaede. They both slowly peeked over the back of the seat. Kaito and Maki were already climbing out of their stalled couch-kart.

Shuichi grabbed the flashlight out from his pocket and turned it on. He pointed it at the ceiling- nothing. Kaede looked down and patted the seat. 

The receiver for the ghost was missing. She shoved her hand into the mystery space between the cushions and retrieved it feeling gross. It felt like the inbetween of car seats- a place that was a mistake to shove your hand- but the receiver wasn't there, either. She gave Shuichi a look.

Shuichi nodded and hopped off the cart and into the thin layer of water that was supposed to look like a river. Underneath their seats lay the metal rail for the cars. He leaned around the front, and nudged between the car and the track, sure enough, was the receiver for their ‘prank.’ Shuichi gulped. Even before now they would’ve had a hard time hiding it from their friends what they did, but now there was solid evidence in the way.

“Find anything?” Maki asked. She walked forward calmly and tried to seem like she was completely calm and collected thirty seconds ago and not greedily snuggling in the most pathetic way she could’ve ever imagined.

Shuichi put his flashlight away and clapped his hands together. “Nothing seems wrong with the cars, maybe they stopped it for an emergency?” Shuichi put his hands in his pockets and looked down the track.

“Well, we did hear that scream earlier, might be up ahead,” Kaito reasoned. He failed to acknowledge his own scream, and they  _ all _ knew that. 

Maki squinted. “Hand me your flashlight,” she said monotone.

Shuichi’s mouth tightened into a smile and he hesitantly retrieved the flashlight again. Maki snatched it and first examined the car that she and Kaito were riding in- nothing was out of the ordinary aside from the obvious- it was a gross and overused piece of garbage.

She then stepped forward and squatted down to look at Shuichi’s car. She tilted her head at it- some part of it looked twisted, exactly the opposite condition that Shuichi had just described to her.

“Kaede,” Shuichi leaned. He spoke out of the side of his mouth in a loud whisper as Maki tried to make sense of the piece caught in the rail.

Kaede nodded and blinked a few times.

Without another word, Shuichi and Kaede started to make a run for it down the tunnel.

“Hey!” Kaito yelled and ran after them “Where are you going!”

Even with the lights dimmed in the tunnel, it’d be easy to follow their footsteps splashing in the shallow water.

“Kaito!” Maki called to him.

He stopped chasing and returned to Maki. He was that close to leaving her in the tunnel alone by accident. She pointed to the mutilated track. 

“There’s some sort of device here that Shuichi was hiding from us,”

“Huh!?”

Maki stared at it. “I think… I think they set up the ghost on the ride.”

“Why would they do that?” 

“I dunno, looks like we have to ask them.”


	5. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh Oh

Shuichi and Kaede kept running down the corridor past all of the other confused park-goers and back into the daylight. At the end of the tunnel Kaede couldn’t help but start laughing.

“We’re so dead,” she snickered, “Oh man!” she held her stomach and kept laughing.

Shuichi couldn’t help joining in. It was actually kind of funny to see the look on their faces- the absolute disbelief. He wasn’t sure if they’d get in trouble for ruining part of the park later, but that was up to other factors.

“Is he still following us?” Kaede looked back, but her cheery demeanor didn’t disappear.

Shuichi shook his head, “he’s gone,” he smiled back at her.  
“C’mon!” She said and waved at him. She kept running and melded into the still-busy crowds. 

He kept his smile high and followed her. Her laughter was contagious, and her presence pulled him like a magnet. He followed her into the mess of the crowd and they kept running.

Running wasn’t necessarily either of their favorite past times, but here it felt like it was suddenly the most fun thing ever. Partners in crime, Shuichi repeated in his head. Kaede led him across the park and slowed down when she noticed one of the food stalls had crepes. 

They were cheap crepes, but they were full of ice cream all the same. Kaede pointed at it, and the breathless Shuichi nodded. Maybe it was time for a reward- they’d been fooling around trying to pair up their friends all day.

Kaede checked over her shoulder once more before looking over the menu. Her hair fell down from her shoulder and she brushed back a few strands. The menu was designed to look like a chalkboard, but with the texture printed all over it. It was both pleasing and terrible to look at.

Shuichi retrieved his wallet. He had enough money for maybe one crepe with how he had budgeted for the theme park. He glanced at Kaede. Would she want to split one? He hesitated to ask- they had both been gushing about when the other two had done the same thing.  
Would that be okay? He wondered. Kaede read the menu to herself out loud. He leaned and tried to read it with her. Between the titles she offered small comments about what she thought would be good, talking to herself, but without any notion to whether or not he was listening.

“Cherry… strawberry… vanilla is good…” she spoke softly.

Shuichi tilted his head at her.

“Do you…” he started to speak, but wasn’t sure where to go with it.

“Maybe we should wait and get crepes with Maki and Kaito,” she said thoughtfully. She looked to Shuichi for a moment for a confirmation.

“Oh, yeah…” He replied. He wasn’t even thinking about them for a moment. He was being completely self-centered thinking about Kaede. He shook his head. He was supposed to be more focused than that.

“But what are we going to do until they find us again?”

“I dunno… I guess just go on some rides,” She said.

I mean, they were at the amusement park. It would’ve been counterproductive to do anything else while waiting for their friends. Shuichi nodded.

So on rides they went- the rollercoaster, the ferris wheel, and anything they could find. If there was a line and two seats, they ran to it with glee and boarded it without a care in the world. Neither of them mentioned anything about the mission again. They waited for their friends to arrive, and when they remained out of sight, they hopped on another ride.

The Tunnel of Love was closed for a good two hours, and Shuichi only realized that when he checked his watch while sitting on a bench outside of the bathrooms. Come to think of it, he hadn’t even seen Kaito or Maki since they were in the tunnel. He almost had to wonder if they were okay. He didn’t spot them in any of the crowds or anywhere.

He checked his phone next- no new messages. Surely if they were in a bind one of them would’ve called, right? He considered reaching out to them and opened up a group chat, but it seemed like there would be no need to do that after all.

In the building behind him, Kaede was in the ladies room. She’d only been there a moment, but she paused to look at herself in the mirror. She wondered a million things a minute- was she pretty enough? Was she cool enough? All of the things one could start to doubt themselves over. Small things, but thorny things.

The door to the bathroom opened and Kaede decided that it was about time to get out of there. She turned and saw Maki blocking her exit with crossed arms.

“Oh… Maki,” she said. “Hi- hello!”

“I wanted to talk to you about earlier,” She said calmly.

It still made Kaede a bit nervous- why the bathroom? And how did she get past Shuichi sitting on the bench outside? Kaede gulped. Was she about to get in trouble for the ghost plot?

“Oh?” Kaede asked. She gave a little smile and hoped that this wasn’t about to end in a confrontation- if it wasn’t one already. She put her arms behind her back and tried to act as casual as possible.

“Are you okay?” Maki asked, but she didn’t want to look Kaede in the eye. She wasn't the best at the whole emotional thing, even when prompted. She had asked Kaito before she went in there what would be a few good things to say.

Kaede was a little taken aback. Her hands floated back down and then she raised her shoulders a bit. She wasn’t used to this amount of care from Maki- so that had to mean certain things were different or had happened. She at least hoped something good happened. “I’m doing just fine, why do you ask?” she asked back to Maki.

“You seemed nervous today.”

“Oh- well- that's!” Her hands criss-crossed all around and pointed in every which direction. She was caught, but she was only half-caught. She was not prepared for this specific situation.  
“Well we… uhhh…” Kaede watched as Maki took a step forward to the counter and set the crushed receiver on the sink.

Maki said nothing. She knew that she was providing plenty of pressure already. She only wanted Kaede to crumble a little bit so that she’d share with her.

Kaede let out a closed-mouth squeal and stared wide-eyed at the little crumpled receiver. “Listen!” Kaede said, a bit too loud for her own taste, “just get it over with already!”

“Get what over with? We were here today for-” Maki grumbled and held her hands in the air as if she were strangling some invisible person that stood between her and Kaede. She couldn’t just give the plan away- she’d ruin it.

“We set up the ghost, okay?” She said sweetly, to the point that if it were anyone else speaking it would sound like sarcasm. “Shuichi thought that space would be enough but I’m the one who thought you needed a spark- please don’t be mad at Shuichi!”

Maki stared dumbfounded. What in the hell was she talking about- had they not unraveled their plan and worked to sabotage it? Did they have something else in mind? “Wait wait wait,” Maki shook her head, “Slow down- what was the ghost for?”

Kaede pressed her lips together and took a second to choose her words carefully. She was standing in front of a trained assassin and was about to admit throwing an elaborate prank at her. “I knew you liked Kaito… Shuichi told me…” she said this as if she was guilty of something by the way of just knowing it.

Maki hesitated to say anything on that topic. Of course Shuichi figured it out- but he told Kaede? And what did that have to do with-

“I was just thinking… if you were together enough alone…” Kaede turned her fingers into finger guns and offered a cheesy smile. “It’d feel like a date and youuuuu…” Kaede drew out the last word and tried to read Maki’s face to see if she was saying the exact wrong thing to her yet.

Maki blinked a few times. Her eyebrows drew in on each other. “That’s…” she looked back at the door for a moment and then to Kaede. She was still dumbfounded.

Kaede interjected quickly, “It really was my plan- don’t be mad a Shuichi!” she waved her hands around. 

Maki paid no attention to her hands but instead looked Kaede in the eyes and nodded. Maki couldn’t help but smile a little bit- she actually found it kind of funny. “Hah…” She shook her head. “We were doing the same thing to you and Shuichi,” she said softly.

Kaede took a moment to open her mouth, close it, look at the ceiling, and then at the floor as her brain ran back through the days’ events.

“You guys just seemed so… together already that it felt like distance was the only thing that would allow the opportunity,” Maki crossed her arms over her chest. 

“We seemed together!?” She waved her hands even faster, “But- I don’t think Shuichi sees me that way at all! That would be-!”

Maki cut her off again, “I asked him,” She said with a shrug. “You have no reason to hesitate. The target is right in front of you.”

“Then what about you, huh? Isn’t the target right there?”  
“Kaito…” Maki looked down. “I think he sees me the same way that he sees Shuichi.”

“...Oh,” Kaede lost her energy and gusto. She hadn’t considered that it was an unrequited situation- and even Shuichi was convinced that their friends had some sort of mutual thing for the other. Had they all read him wrong? Kaede held her hands in front of her and intertwined them together. 

“Well, whatever happens- I’m your friend, too, remember?” She clenched her fists and took a triumphant step towards Maki. “And if you ever need me I’ll be here!” She said with a wide smile.

Maki almost laughed. Kaede had a similar kind of energy to the person she admired- the energy that kept people going when things got tough- energy that she was a little jealous of. She smiled. “Thank you, Kaede.”

A similar conversation was happening outside, unbeknownst to the girls.

See, when Maki walked by and into the girls restroom, Shuichi noticed and was going to stop her- but Kaito had his arm around his shoulder faster than he knew Kaito to be. Somehow they had managed to sneak up on him in complete silence. Shuichi nearly dropped his phone and Kaito guided him back to the bench. Though, it really felt like it was forced.

Shuichi sat down and looked at Kaito curiously- if not a little worried. His eyes flickered back to the womens’ restroom.

“Hey! Eyes on me,” Kaito said. He pointed to his own face with his pointer and middle fingers. “She’s distracting her so I can ask you what the hell you’re doing,” he added.

“What do you mean what am I doing!” Shuichi reared back his neck with wide eyes. This accusation felt like it was coming out of nowhere- unless Kaito had caught on to their plot somehow. Either way, it was denial mode time.

“Dude, we gave you the perfect setup, the perfect amount of space- what are you doing?” Kaito asked, concerned.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Shuichi threw his hands up in the air.

“Oh for-“ Kaito rolled his eyes. “Kaede! You like Kaede! Get it over with buddy! Make a move!” Kaito copied Shuichi’s hand-toss with twice as much energy.

Shuichi’s shoulders dropped. He was confused, but he sure was about to put it together faster than the girls were. “Have you been…” he started to consider it. It made enough sense- it was extremely passive, but Maki and Kaito had been giving them space all night.

“Wingmanning!” Kaito answered the question for him. “We’ve been wingmanning all day Shuichi!” Kaito leaned towards his friend.

Shuichi nodded. He raised his eyebrows, then let them float back down. “Are you kidding me!” He exclaimed.

“What!” Kaito leaned back, shocked by Shuichi’s response.

“You- you are so dense!” Shuichi said.

“I’m not dense, you’re dense!” Kaito immediately copied back on the defensive. He wasn't the one who had missed something after all.

“We’ve been wingmanning you all day too!” Shuichi exclaimed.

Kaito paused. He cocked his head sideways, and then the other ways, and then back. “Wh… what do you mean wingmanning me?” He asked, his voice going quieter.

Shuichi put his hands over his face and went “graaaw,” in frustration. “How can you speak three languages and be this bad with words? Kaito! We’ve been wingmanning you!” Shuichi’s complaints turned into an angry whisper. He became increasingly aware of his volume when Kaito lowered his. 

“Why would I need to be wingmanned!? I’m a casanova!” Kaito whispered loudly back.

Shuichi was speechless. He held his hands out with the palms up. Out of all the things Kaito could have taken out of that, this is somehow the conclusion he reached. “Whheueueue?” Shuichi shook his head and leaned forward. “You were supposed to make a move on Maki, Casanova!”

“Shuichi, I am this close to knocking your lights out,” Kaito returned to a normal volume and pinched his fingers together. There was no space between them.

Shuichi slowly slid backwards off the bench to put a little distance between him and his friend. He raised his hand and pointed. “Knock me out- but it won’t change that you’re just as much of a coward as I am!” 

“Ohoohohohoho,” Kaito shook his fist, “them’s fighting words Shuichi!” He rose from his seat and cracked his knuckles.

Shuichi put the bench between him and Kaito to avoid getting punched. “Ahhh I cannot believe you!” Shuichi said from behind the safety of the bench. Kaito started circling to get to him, and both of them started crab walking around it and holding their hands in front of themselves trying to predict the others’ movements.

“Can’t believe me? I can’t believe you!” Kaito tried to close the distance, but Shuichi was fast to avoid him. Kaito gripped his fists closed. “What makes you think there’s anything to wingman!?” Kaito stepped one foot onto the bench in order to leap over the back of it, but Shuichi stepped back away from the whole thing.

“Do the math! I’m not going to spell it out for you this time!” he said. Shuichi balled his hands into fists.

Kaito grumbled. He took a second to do what Shuichi had asked: The Math, but the conclusion he came to was with the wrong equation. His eyes glanced at the bathroom to make sure that no one was exiting. “...H- Maki doesn’t feel that way about me!” He said, once again returning to the angry whisper.

“You’re in denial!” Shuichi raised his chin.

Kaito grumbled. He sure as hell didn’t think he was in denial, and it hurt for Shuichi to say that. He didn’t think he had anything to deny. “I’m really going to hit you,” Kaito shook his head again and walked towards Shuichi.

This time, Shuichi stood still and planted his feet. Kaito reeled back his fist, but he hesitated. He couldn’t do it today- after a conversation as loaded as that, he didn’t have enough energy.

“Humor me, Kaito,” Shuichi said softly. When Kaito had no reply, Shuichi continued to speak. “I’ll make a move if you do,” Shuichi offered his hand out for a shake.

Kaito put his fists down. He looked between Shuihi and their hands with sorrowful eyes. “I can’t…” he said quietly.

Shuichi put his hand down and then returned to the position of offering a handshake to wordlessly ask that Kaito reconsider.

“I’m not here to have this conversation,” Kaito crossed his arms. He was here to intervene- and not be intervened upon.

“You started this conversation.” Shuichi said. And he was right, technically. That burned even more bitter. Shuichi wiggled his open palm, still waiting to be shook. “What are you losing exactly? Dignity? Pride?” Shuichi asked, almost jeering.

“Oh, as if I had any of that in the first place,” Kaito mumbled sarcastically. He looked back at the bathroom. He sort-of wanted their stalling to be over so he could ditch the conversation and run, but it seemed like an endless stream of waiting was in store for him. He tapped his foot.

“Then what?” Shuichi asked, exasperated.

As stated before, he did not want to explore any of his inner demons. To him, that wasn’t a very manly hero thing to do. “I don’t…” he hesitated. Could he even share this with his closest of friends? Would him burdening his friend really help either of them? “I don’t want to ruin what we have.”

Shuichi took a deep breath. “You know Maki wouldn’t stop being your friend over something like that. You know that.”

Kaito looked at Shuichi’s hand, nearly glared at it, and then reached out to take it “Damn shame, you’ve been spending too much time with Kokichi- this seems like something he’d pull.” he grumbled.

They shook hands.

Shuichi smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! We have one more chapter! Lets get it typed up and the fic will be over<3  
> Are you ready for the thrilling conclusion?


	6. Ferris Wheel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Conclusion

As evening started to settle, so did our protagonists. A little over an hour after the bathroom talk for any of them, the four of them made up bad excuses yet again in order to split into pairs. Shuichi and Kaede smiled wide awkward smiles and pretended with the other two as if their individual conversations never happened. The excuses didn't really matter, as they were all  _ determined _ to take the bait.

As soon as Kaede and Shuichi trotted and walked away, Maki engaged in a new conversation immediately. “Do you really think that that’s what they’re up to?” She asked pointedly.

Kaito averted his eyes and tried to hide his face as he spoke. “I may have convinced Shuichi to confess, actually,” He said.

Maki’s eyes lowered. The darkest expression she had was barely masked by her desire to be casual. “Oh?” she asked. She couldn’t help the slight twinge of sarcasm that came from her mouth.

Kaito nodded, as if he were completely convinced that their ‘deal’ held up. He still felt like he was being tricked. “Yeah,  _ I _ ,” he dragged out the I for a long time as he looked around the park above her head. His eyes landed on the ferris wheel again. “I think we can get a better vantage point up there again,” he said. He pointed at it.

Maki’s eyes followed the vector of his arm up to the top of the wheel. They’d already done that before, and this time they already knew roughly where the other two were headed. It was far too suspicious if Kaito was using his brain at all. Maki tilted her head back. She knew that he wasn’t an idiot, and he wouldn’t copy her precious idea for no  _ reason _ . 

She wondered if they still had the same goal- or if this indicated a change in priority. Maybe the point was to keep either of them from interfering- which shouldn’t be a worry in the first place as far as she was concerned. Maki’s little smile seemingly bloomed out of nowhere. Maybe Shuichi’s terms  _ required  _ that they didn’t interfere. That was almost cute.

“What?” Kaito asked. He was paying close attention to her changing facial expressions. 

“Nothing,” she said coyly, “lets go to the ferris wheel again.”

Kaito nodded quickly. They made quick work of the crowd and got to the wheel with ease, but every gaining moment made Kaito feel like his heart was caught in his throat. A throbbing heart that caught there felt like it was suffocating him with every beat.

Maki was suspicious, but her list of things to expect were less on the downside and more in the vein of another uneventful- if not frustrating- ride. Maki was quick to snatch her hand away in the line and used it to cradle herself at the torso.

Kaito spared her a single, missed glance of disappointment. His heart started to sink down back past his chest and into the pit of his stomach. He’d made a promise. He had to keep his promise. Even if that promise was a little toxic and manipulative at best. He told himself that he had to keep it anyways.

Kaito looked up and away when the operator gave him a particular look, having recognized them from earlier that day. He did not want to think about it. Maki noticed, but she would have her own dramatic assumptions to draw from that behavior. Was it casually feigned ignorance? Or simply rejection? She would decidedly focus on the latter.

Kaito held his arms out to signal that Maki should step into the orb first and pick her seat. She was even more off-put by this. Something was terribly odd, and she was ready to throw up her guard at a moments’ notice. She selected where she had sat before, next to him, in the middle of the left seat. A neutral choice, she believed.

Kaito, too hesitant to look at her for too long, also chose the seat he had best occupied by the window. He cleared his throat as the operator shut the door. His eyes focused on the floor. 

She watched him carefully. Her hands gripped the thin, flat seat as the cart started to move. After a few moments in silent motion, Maki let go of the seat. “We aren’t here to look for Shuichi,” Maki said.

Kaito froze up. He knew she’d be able to see through the ruse, but even he was surprised at how direct she was about it. He took a deep breath. “No, we’re not,” he admitted.

“Then why are we up here?” She asked. She didn’t look him in the eye. Maki set her hands in her lap and waited. She didn’t have to wait Long.

“I wanted to talk to you- about something.” His palms were sweating. He dragged them across his knees.

Maki pivoted her head only slightly, robotically. “About?” Her hands pressed into the seat and slid backwards. She was looking dead at him now.

Kaito was ready to chicken out. “Well I uh…” he wrung his hands together. He had to hurry and deflect before things got too serious, too fast. “Wanted to know… if you hate me,” he said. That was somehow the best he could do. Kaito knew it was a little strong the moment it came out of his mouth, but he couldn’t stop it.

Maki’s hands released. She leaned back. She thought that they had already talked about it, but she guessed that he was wanting an answer sooner rather than later. Maki considered it for only a moment, with a million thoughts collapsing upon another at once. “No, I don’t hate you.” She replied simply. She wanted to say a million more things, but that was all she could manage.

She didn’t want to look at him anymore. The more she focused on it, the less she was able to look him in the eye. But… they were friends, weren’t they? Why did she really need to be super extra especially closed off? Was it the only way to keep her secret? She wondered about it. Was all of it really necessary to keep? She wanted to protect her feelings, but she didn’t want to hurt a friend in the process. 

She looked at him again. He was quiet- still thinking- and maybe still listening. “I’m frustrated at myself,” she elaborated. _ And you _ , but she wasn’t about to admit that. 

He perked up. His favorite outward persona started to overtake the nerves that had previously crossed haywire. “Whatever it is, I’m sure I can help!” he exclaimed, possibly a bit too loud.

Maki looked only mildly annoyed at this sudden change. He was often like this with her, but she couldn’t see how he could possibly understand. This was something she had to figure out for herself, she thought. There were no ways for him to help without her outright confessing. She crossed one arm across her chest, and used the other to cradle her cheek and think. “Hm,” she murmured.

He had a huge fake smile spread from cheek to cheek. He waited awkwardly while she seemed to be thinking about something. When there was no elaboration, his shoulders sunk. “C’mooonnnn,” he spoke gently, but leaned to the side.

Maki crossed her other arm over her chest. Her cheeks puffed up and she resisted the urge to turn her entire body away.

Kaito reached forward and grabbed her hands. Despite her struggling, he easily lifted her hands above her head. Her face was overshadowed and her cheeks stayed puffy. “I love… all my friends. Which, you are, so- we should be able to help each other!” He scolded her.

Maki closed her fists tightly and attempted to first pull her arms down again. She grumbled at him, “Let go,” she said darkly. Leaned back, and planted one of her legs on the bench.

Kaito looked down at her leg reflexivity as she pulled on his arms, and then looked away as quickly as possible. He was blindsided by Maki pulling a weird maneuver. She put her legs on his hips and lifted him in the air via all four of her limbs, and then flung him to the left and above her over the side of the bench and onto the floor, which forced him to let go of her hands.

He shuddered an “oof,” as he landed on his back at the bottom of the cart. The basket rocked a little, disturbed by the force of the throw. Kaito saw stars rotating at the top of the cabin. Above that, Maki peeked out from the bench above. She once again eclipsed the light at the top of the cabin.

“You are the moon,” he said softly, even though the wind had been knocked out of him. 

The moon.

At first, she thought she threw him a little too hard. What a weird thing to say. She folded her arms and leaned back into the seat. She was going to humor it. “You want to go to me?” she mused out loud. 

He leaned up on his elbows so that he could see her face. “Uh… yeah,” he replied. He had no idea how to elaborate further.

She was already far deep in the million things that that could mean. Kaito talked about the moon all the time- he’d even promised to take her and Shuichi there. Sometimes, he talked about it more than anything else astronaut related- like he was obsessed with it.  _ Obsessed _ ? She wondered.  _ That makes no sense _ .

She covered her mouth with her hand and slowly peeked over at him again, with her eyebrows taught inwards. “What?” She asked, with a bit of accidental vinegar sprinkled in. She sounded more offended than confused. 

Kaito sat up and scratched the back of his head. One arm crossed his body and he looked away and back. “You are the moon…” he repeated quietly, “to me,” he added.

Maki felt a rush of goosebumps up her arms and stiffened up. Regardless of anything she could try to interpret that as, she couldn’t deny the romantic implication of the sentence when he said it like that. “You really…” she mumbled. The goosebumps climbed up to her throat. “You really shouldn't look away when you say things like that!” She crossed her arms.

Kaito looked at her, confused. “What.”

Maki crossed her arms. “Say it again. With- with feeling this time,” she pressed her lips together to avoid the smile that was threatening to spread across her face.

He stood up in the cabin. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he couldn’t exactly stop it. “You are the moon to me,” he repeated. He titled his head back and forth. “And the stars, too.”

Maki’s hands gripped her sleeves. She was starting to consider that he might really mean it. “Louder,” She said again.

“ **YOU ARE THE MOON AND THE STARS AND ALL OF SPACE!** ” He shouted, stubbornly.

Maki balled her fists and yelled back, “ **I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS** ” She hit the seat with her fist. She was starting to turn red. 

Kaito took a step forward and yelled again “ **THE MOON, YOU ARE THE-** ”

“ **WHAT!** ”

Kaito grumbled and closed his fists, too. “ **I LOVE YOU!** ” he shouted.

“...what.” Maki paused, her shoulders dropped.

“I said I-” Kaito also stopped and shook his head. “I said what I said.” His posture straightened out.

Maki blinked. “I…” her arms relaxed while she tried to formulate what to say exactly. She crossed her arms. “Okay, I heard you that time,” she said. She was trying to be monotone, but couldn’t help the little wobble in her voice.

Kaito wasn’t exactly sure whether or not that was a rejection, but he was nearly about to take it as one.

“If I’m the moon then… you’re a Katana,” she said quietly.

He tilted his head. “You’re bad with swords…” he mumbled, sadly.

“I mess up with you, but… you make me want to keep trying. I don’t get you but…” Maki tried to straighten herself out. Her breath was caught in her throat. “...You’re my weakness.” She said, exasperated. It took as she could to say just that. She cursed the things that were suddenly making her nervous. 

Kaito pivoted, and then pivoted again. “Oh, that’s…” he pivoted back to the window, and then back to Maki a second time. “Really!?” He jumped in place. The cabin rocked again.

Maki’s eyes lowered. Her stomach was in knots. “Do not make me say it,” she crossed her arms over her chest. 

Kaito sat on his knees on the floor and leaned onto the seat next to where she was sitting. “Please?” He asked sweetly.

Maki looked down at him. Was he… begging? His eyes were sparkling as if he’d somehow been revived. She turned her nose up, “Not in a billion years,” he usual tone returned, but she was smiling.

“What if I was like- dying or something?” he asked.

Maki twisted herself away, playfully, “Not even then!” She said.

He happily hit the bench with his fist. “Then I’ll wait. One billion years exactly, and we can both sail the stars until then!” He exclaimed.

Maki leaned towards him, and her arms loosened. “Then… I will tell you that I love you when we are done sailing the stars,” she said, somehow however nicely.

Kaito smiled. That counted. He hopped up on the bench next to her, no closer than he would have before, and offered his hand to her. She stared at it for only a moment before taking it, and then slid closer to him. She raised his hand in a loop above and around her until his arm was around her shoulders. She leaned herself in and closed her eyes. 

The ride suddenly stopped when she was finally comfortable. “Oh,” she said, “We spent all of our time,” she said quietly. Her cheeks started to puff up- she obviously wanted to stay longer.

“Wanna go again?” he asked.

He cheeks deflated. That was right. They could just go again. She sighed and mumbled an “Mhm.”

\--

Elsewhere, Shuichi and Kaede sat at one of the umbrella tables where their journey had started. Things were different, but it seemed like all things looped back to the beginning. Shuichi held her hand from across the table. “Do you think they’ll be okay?” he mused, with his eye on the ferris wheel. Kaede sighed happily and smiled.

“I think they’ll be just fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking it through, i hope you had a fun time!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello World! This is a short 10k work I've had sitting around 90% done since last year, and I'm going to go ahead and post the first few parts and get it all done nice and quick so I can move on to working on my other longterm projects! Once the last chapter is done this will be a little over 12k total and I think I divided it into about five chapters. I hope you enjoyed the premise!


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